Now And Forever
by Totally Unoriginal Pen Name
Summary: Nate Niveus is starting out his journey, but not like the rest. He suffers "battle anxiety" and his only cure for it is an annoying ghost who calls himself "Black". Partnered up with a hot-headed Hugh and a hyper Rosa, Nate is in for a journey of a lifetime already...And that's not counting the return of Team Plasma.
1. Chapter 1

**I just thought I should let you know that I am not doing this on my own time. Or out of my own free will. My mother decided it was best for me to fill out a journal, a way to vent out my hidden emotions. Blargh to her. I'm fifteen, I think I can handle myself.**

**She just doesn't get it sometimes.**

**I guess I should tell you about myself before I rant, right? Whatever. My name is Nathaniel Niveus, but my friends just call me Nate. I'm fifteen, as you know. **

**And today...Today is the start of everything.**

* * *

I shut my journal as my friends entered the classroom. I only managed to befriend two other students at the trainer school, probably due to my peculiar brain and my habit of brooding. Rosa, a girl with bright blue eyes and dark brown hair she pulled into buns on the sides of her head, and Hugh, who had spiky dark hair and deep red eyes.

No wonder we were outcasts- we were different than the dull, soon-to-be trainers.

Plus, there was something else I didn't like to mention in front of...Well, normal people.

Ever since Mom and I moved to Asperita City a few years ago, something has been haunting me. Literally. A ghost who calls himself "Black". "Black" because that's how most of his memory is.

I don't understand why he chose me to cling on to, but it has gotten me in so much trouble over the past few years. All I knew is that he was murdered- and the same went for him.

"_I'm so bored." _Black always decided to do this in public- talk to me, expecting an answer. He probably thought it was funny to see me suffer.

"Shut up…" I uttered back, getting weird glances from people. Hugh and Rosa say I have a voice in my head- they don't know the half of it.

Hugh sat next to me, looking around before saying, "Three kids are gonna be given Pokémon today." He explained.

"Really?" I replied.

"Yeah! There's a battle tournament, I think, and the winner and the runner-ups get to pick one!" Rosa butted-in, hyper and ecstatic as always. "I think you'll win, Nate! You're such a good battler!"

I was only a good battler because of Black- he must have been a very adept trainer when he was alive. If he wasn't there, I would clamp up in anxiety and I wouldn't know what to do. Black was my only advice- and the only thing he was good for was for battling.

"I don't know…" I trailed off, sliding my journal into my bag. "Hugh'll beat me for sure."

The only other person in the class who had a possibility of beating me was Hugh. It was so natural for him. He could probably be the champion if he tried. But I never thought that was his goal in mind. There is something about Hugh that always set people off- a number one reason why he was in our group of "misfits".

"I guess we'll just have to see." He muttered, watching as the teacher came in.

Mr. Cheren, who was only a couple of years older than his own students, was a heck of a lot smarter than some of them. He was once a student of Professor Juniper- the number-one professor in all of Unova. He quit, though, after a big fight or something. The rumors say so many different things I wouldn't know which was true.

He cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of all the students in the room. "As some of you are aware, we're having a tournament today. The winners, in first, second and third place respectively, will be able to get a Pokémon from Professor Juniper. This also means you are allowed to leave on your journey earlier than the rest, and your trainer card will be certified."

Gasps and murmurs echoed through the classroom.

"The rules are just like any other tournament. A one-on-one battle, with your own or borrowed Pokémon." Mr. Cheren didn't need to explain much more about the rules- we all knew how tournaments worked. "How many of you brought your own Pokémon today?"

Hands went up across the room, including my own. Parents would take their kids out to Route Nineteen or Floccesy Ranch to get their own Pokémon. My father, when he was still alive, took me to the Ranch when I was seven, catching me my first Pokémon.

I'm not going to dwell much about my father, because I barely knew him- trainer, musician, died in a plane crash. That's all I remembered.

"Those of you who do not have Pokémon, please grab one from the rack." Each classroom has a rack of Pokéballs full of the simplest ones imaginable- Patrat, Lillipup, Purrloin, and there was even a Rattata.

Three students rushed up- I knew them to be Jerome, Dwight and Olive- and picked out a Pokémon. It's not that they were irresponsible, it's that...Well, they're partially irresponsible. They've been the head bullies in everything since first grade, according to Rosa. Besides Hugh, back then Jerome was the best battler.

Then I came to town. Although they make fun of my "voices in my head", they can't beat me at battling.

I glanced quickly to Black, who floated beside my desk. _Well, us. _

"I'll be back in a few moments. Please, don't jump out the window again." The plea was directed right to Dwight, who had decided "f*ck school" and jumped out of the window. He wasn't found until later that day, at his house.

Dwight had a nervous grin on his face before his group glared back at ours. It was a constant fight, whenever we had battle class they would always demand a triple battle, or a rotation battle, with us. If one of us was missing, even better. Mr. Cheren always pulled it down to a double battle, so it never mattered. Oh, and did I forget to mention we kick their ass every time?

"_A tournament." _Black grinned, landing in front of me so he could chat. It would be forever a one-sided conversation, however. "_Are you gonna need my assistance, again, Nate?"_

"Yeah…" I uttered under my breathe.

"_What was that?"_

He heard me, but just liked to play with me like that. It's the frustration from being called "crazy" he seemed to enjoy the most. Black rolled his eyes after he realized I wasn't going louder. Nor was I paying attention.

Hugh, Rosa and I glared as the other group started to amble towards us. Hugh stood up, pushing his creaky desk chair behind him, glaring at Dwight. Rosa tried to ignore the glare of Olive, but knew it wasn't going to stop.

Jerome stopped in front of my desk, his brown eyes studying every detail of me. Not much has changed, really, so I saw no reason to. Maybe he was thinking I was starting to go crazy. "So, a tournament today, eh?"

His breath smelled of tobacco. We aren't allowed to have it in school, there's no doubt that he had a pack of it in his pocket.

"Best of luck, Nate."

I never liked that kid. Black grinned, floating next to me.

* * *

The tournament had begun. I was up against someone who held no true importance in the story- a guy named Frederick, who had light blonde hair, the palest, whitest skin imaginable, and grey eyes. Rumors were that he was blind when he was younger, but Zekrom visited him and gave his sight back.

Rumors can be the craziest thing, I tell you.

"Patrat, I choose you!" The small, brown pokemon popped out, its red and yellow eyes glaring at me.

"Riolu, go!" I had the type advantage in the fight, at least. But it wouldn't stop my mouth from going dry and my chest from tightening. My doctor said it was some sort of battle anxiety that I've had since I was four, but it should go away in a few years. But he said that when I was nine.

Doubt it.

Black landed next to me, giving me not only a second pair of eyes, but a sense of tranquility. He was an annoying bitch most of the time, but he knew when to stop and when to help. "_Patrat and Riolu? High Jump Kick is an egg move, right?"_

"Patrat, tackle."

I didn't have time to respond before I quickly yelled out, "Riolu, dodge and High Jump Kick!"

The Emanation Pokémon jumped out of the way of the Tackle, dealing a kick to the Patrat's left side, sending it flying. A one-hit KO for me. I advanced into the next round, breathing heavily.

"_You did good, Nate." _Black said. "_Let's win this!"_

"Sure." I said in reply, getting a glare from a girl next to me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pokemon battles have always made me anxious. I don't know why, it's some mental disorder the doctors never explained to me. All I know is that when I battle, my body tends to freeze. It happened a lot when I first moved to Asperita City- it looked like I had to hope of becoming a trainer.**

**Then Black decided to step in and help. After that, he seemed to give me instructions to calm me down from having an anxiety attack. I quickly improved, going off his advice, and climbed to the top of the battlers.**

**Needless to say, people were impressed with my improvement. The "Battle Anxiety" still clings to me, but not as much as before, due to Black. Though, I've always feared that if I lose Black, it'll go back to the way it was before...**

* * *

"Riolu, come on out!"

"Alright, Purrloin!" Jerome had always borrowed a Pokémon from the school. Maybe that's why he always lost. Though he begged with his parents to catch him one, and attempted to make it to Floccesy Ranch to catch one, too, he never made it.

His strategy always changed every battle. The one con of him. I took a deep breath, just like Black told me to.

Jerome moved first. "Purrloin, Sand Attack!"

"Riolu, look out-" I couldn't respond fast enough, and I cursed as sand was thrown into my Pokémon's eyes. He winced, trying his best to rub the sand out.

"Fury Swipes!"

"Dodge using Quick Attack!" Riolu got out of the way by running at light-speed, before returning and hitting the Purrloin in the face.

"_Now, be careful, Nate." _Black advised. "_Riolu's accuracy is down, so it might not hit perfectly." _I nodded, biting my lip.

"Fury Swipes again, Purrloin!"

"Riolu, wait for it!" Riolu tensed, holding onto his spot as the Devious Pokémon got closer, claws lit up like a Christmas star. He trusted me completely. "Now, Force Palm!" His palm lit up, much like the Purrloin's, and he struck his foe across the face.

I remembered that fighting-types were super effective onto dark-types, and the Purrloin took a lot of damage. _One more hit, _I thought, _then you're out._

It was always the middle of the battle when I had the most confidence. I always said to myself, you made it this far, Nate, keep going. Keep going. I was still as tense as a rock and my breathing was heavy, but I told myself to keep going. I could do it.

"Purrloin, get back up!" Jerome yelled to the dark-type. "C'mon, you can do it!"

The kid cares about Pokémon deeply, it's just his relations with people that set him off. Purrloin did manage to stand back up, but she was weak. Another hit, I mused, still shaking.

"_You're close to winning, Nate." _Black commented. "_One more hit, and you should be good."_

"Riolu, Force Palm again!" Riolu's paw glimmered white, and he charged at the dark-type. The Purrloin jumped out of the way just in time and retaliated with a scratch. I winced. "Again!"

"Look our, Purrloin!" Purrloin jumped out of the way again, and hit Riolu with a scratch attack.

"Riolu, quick attack!" Swiftly and with much agility, Riolu dodged the scratch attack and hit Purrloin in the side, knocking it out.

"Purrloin is unable to battle. Riolu wins! Trainer Nate moves on!"

Jerome looked defeated, returning Purrloin, but he glanced back to me and he grinned. Not one of his evil, _I'm gonna get you back _grins, but a genuine smile. I returned the gesture.

* * *

It was already the final battle. Rosa had battled Hugh and lost, her Mareep easily taken down by Hugh's Elekid.

Now it was the final match- me against Hugh. Riolu glanced to me, nervous, and I gave him the most encouraging smile I could give...But it didn't work.

"The final battle will now begin!" The referee waved the green flag, and Hugh glanced at me, ready for any moves I make.

"Riolu, go!" I called, and Riolu ran out onto the field, pumped up and ready for battle.

"Elekid, your turn!" Hugh said, throwing his Pokeball into the air. The yellow Elekid came out. Hugh told me the story of how his mother took him to the Virbank Complex when he was younger and they found the egg, unattended. The mother was just caught by a trainer and the egg would've died on its own. Hugh cared for the egg until it hatched.

I thought for a moment. Elekid was fast, and could get hits in faster than Riolu could. I bit my lip, knowing my anxiety was going to come on the moment Riolu was attacked.

"Elekid, low kick!"

Elekid charged at Riolu, his lower leg glowing. "_Nate, do something!"_

"Riolu, look out!" Riolu dodged the attack, countering with a force palm. The attack hit Elekid across the face, sending him flying.

Hugh growled. "Elekid, you can do it. Swift!"

Stars shot out from the Pokemon's chest, and I knew there was no way to escape it. I cried out, quickly, "Endure!" Riolu glowed with a bright light, and it faded quickly as the stars collided with him.

It would have done more damage if we hadn't used that move, I reasoned. I glanced to Black and he nodded with a grin.

"Riolu, quick attack!" Riolu charged, a white light trailing behind him, and he hit Elekid in the chest.

As Riolu returned to our side of the court, he suddenly cringed, yellow bursts of static flying off his body. "_Riolu got paralyzed, Nate."_

I bit my lip. Healing items weren't allowed in tournaments like this. Riolu glanced back at me, and I nodded. We can still do this. Paralysis has never stopped anyone before. Sorta.

"Elekid, swift!"

"Endure again!"

Riolu was hit hard, but still managed to stay up straight. Black, floating next to me, crossed his arms while looking for a weak point in Elekid. He gasped suddenly, finding it. Black was always good at that- and since nobody else could see him, I technically wasn't cheating. "_Elekid is guarding his right side carefully- try and hit for there."_

I nodded. "Riolu, quick attack! Hit the right side!" Elekid had no time to react, nor did Hugh, as Riolu quickly fought off his paralysis and hit the electric-type in the right side, knocking it out instantly.

"Elekid is not able to battle. Riolu is the winner!" I won again. Black gave me a high-five, although it was more discreet than what you imagine.

* * *

**Mr. Cheren joined the rest of the class in clapping, and he brought down three Pokeballs. Hugh and Rosa stood next to me, as they had earned second and third place, as we were presented with the Pokemon, out of their pokeballs.**

Oshawott, a water-type, was a blue-and-white otter Pokemon with a shell on its chest. It was also a girl. Snivy, a grass-type, was a serpent-like Pokemon with, its tail spreading out into a leaf. It was a boy. Tepig was a small, red pig, and it blew out embers of its nose. It was a boy, too.

"You go first, Nate." Rosa said, excited. I nodded, looking at the Pokemon before me.

"_Pick Oshawott." _Black's voice, as if a conscience, rang in my ear. I wanted to ask him why, but not only was I surrounded by people who consider me sorta "normal", but I was pressed on time.

"I'll take Oshawott." I said quickly, picking out the Pokeball.

Hugh reached for Snivy, which meant Rosa got Tepig. Rosa squealed, hugging the fire-type tightly, and I felt a tinge of pity for him. Snivy just glanced up at Hugh and nodded.

Oshawott? She immediately leapt into my arms, chittering happily. This was only the beginning.


End file.
